top ten tuesday – ten books i struggled to get into but ended up loving

i am participating in the “top ten tuesday”, which is a weekly challenge hosted by the broke and the bookish. for this week’s topic i choose “ten books i struggled to get into but ended up loving“. i thought about the other topics, but i think this one is the only one were i can come up with ten books in total 😀 so let’s just get started:

“ten books i struggled to get into but ended up loving”

1.) “nevernight” by jay kristoff

yes, that’s right. i really, really, really had trouble getting into this book. i was confused, i didn’t know what was happening and at some point i thought about dnfing it. yes. but then around page 60 everything changed. i couldn’t put it down and i loved it sooooo much. you may know, that “godsgrave” was one of my most anticipated reads this year and all because of “nevernight”. it is sooooooo sooooo good!!! ❤

2.) “a darker shade of magic” by v.e. schwab

yes, another popular one. “a darker shade of magic” was my first book by v.e. schwab. i haven’t read anything else by her before and it was also one of the first fantasies, that i tried out since a long time. after reading so many contemporaries, it was difficult to switch to fantasy, at least it was for me. so i struggled a bit with this book. but it didn’t take long. i fell in love with the writing and the characters and this became on of my all time favorite series. ❤

3.) “this savage song” by victoria schwab

i guess, there is a pattern here haha 😀 i have to admit, that i had my problems, starting this book, because i was a little bit confused. but it didn’t take me long to get into it and i loved it. but the start was confusing and that’s why i never gave this five stars.

4.) “six of crows” by leigh bardugo

yeah yeah, i know. another fantasy 😀 but hear me out. i haven’t read the grisha trilogy before getting to this book. i heard you don’t need to. but at the beginning of “six of crows” i regretted it, because i was confused and it took me a little while to get into this world. everything was new to me. but i fell in love with kaz immediately and i needed to read on, because i wanted more. so after a while i was fully commited and loved it so so soooo much! ❤

5.) “illuminae” by amie kaufman & jay kristoff

oh, a sci-fi book haha. it wasn’t the story here, that made my struggle. it was the layout. yes, i admit it. i had some problems getting used to the different kinds formats of mails and files and stuff. it was something totally different than i was used to and i needed some time. but it was also a case of getting used to it very quickly, because i enjoyed the story and characters so much, that this book was great for me in the end.

6.) “red rising” by pierce brown

oh this really needs to be on this list! i really, really struggled throughout this book. for me, there was no world building. i was thrown into this world and had a feeling that i should know everything right from the start. this made it hard. it was no easy read. but i still enjoyed the action and the plot and the characters very much. and i will definitely be continuing with the series.

7.) “a year of marvellous ways” by sarah winman

“a year of marvellous ways” was my first book by sarah winman. her writing style is definitely something, that takes time getting used to. it’s very different from what i knew, but throughout the book i started to love it. it’s really beautiful and combined with the story, you get such a good feeling. i loved the character of marvellous and even if i struggled at the beginning, i really loved this book in the end! ❤

8.) “the girl with all the gifts” by m.r. carey

this dystopian novel was another case of “i almost dnf’ed it”. it was sooooo hard getting into this book. i really struggled a lot and i even read the beginning two times. i really needed to fight through some pages until it got really, really good. once you’re in the story, the action and plot is so good, that it’s hard to put it down.

9.) “on the road” by jack kerouac

oh my, it took me a very long time getting used to “on the road” by jack kerouac. i don’t even know what it was, but i really struggled. i thought about putting it down, but i really wanted to read it and i am so happy, that i did. because when you reach a certain point in this book, then you just fly through it. so it’s really worth to stick with it, because this is such a wonderful roadtrip modern classic! 🙂

10.) “one flew over the cuckoo’s nest” by ken kesey

this book, oh my god this book. i feel so bad for saying that, because the message of this book is so fantastic. i really loved how it turned out, but here is the thing. this is sooooo hard. it’s sooo hard to get through this book, because it really is insane and so is the writing style. sometimes you have absolutely no idea, what is going on and what the hell kesey is talking about. i struggled so much. but i still loved it in the end! because this book is soooo unique!

ok guys, that was my list of books i struggled to get into but still loved in the end. let me know, if there are any books on your list too, or if you agree or not! 🙂

I won’t lie I also struggled to get into Six of Crows but once I got through the first few pages I loved it. Now I’m struggling with Crooked Kingdom, chapters are soooo long lol 😂 and I’m a person that liked to finish the chapter that I’ve started before going to bed so once or twice I’ve gotten my kobo ereader on my face because of it lol 😂

I find fantasy can be so hard to get into! Most of the time the books are so interesting and the world-building is great and everything, but there’s so much that has to be set up before it can get started

I think that Illuminae might be confusing because of the difference in writing style…I need to pick it up, (hangs head in shame) I still haven’t read it but i do want to…as for six of crows for me it was a bit confusing at first but then it became such an amazing story that is now a favorite of mine…sometimes the struggle it’s worth it.

Nevernight is one of the most difficult books to get into but once you do, you don’t want to place it down! I just ordered Godsgrave and I’m super excited!
On what comes to This Savage Song and Six of Crows, they’re both on my September TBR but I hope it won’t be too difficult to be dragged into the stories!